


Watching for You

by hquinzelle



Series: It's All About You [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Captain America: The Winter Soldier Spoilers, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-09
Updated: 2014-04-21
Packaged: 2018-01-18 17:21:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1436521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hquinzelle/pseuds/hquinzelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve Rogers asks Darcy for a favor.  She is supposed to stay out of danger, but in typical Darcy Lewis fashion, that doesn't happen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Darcy Lewis had officially decided that this was the most boring stakeout ever.  If it wasn’t for the fact that Steve was her friend…

Steve Rogers had come back to Stark Tower a week ago, accompanied by Sam Wilson (were there any superheroes that _weren’t_ hot?).  He looked like he had been to hell and back, but he refused to talk about what had happened in Washington, D.C.  All Darcy knew was that something big had happened with SHIELD, and Steve was temporarily in charge of SHIELD.  He, Tony and the rest of the Avengers (minus Natasha, who had disappeared, and Thor, who was in Asgard) had been having long meetings every day behind closed doors.  Darcy could usually charm her way into any meeting or situation, but everyone’s lips were as sealed as Ft. Knox. 

Of course, all she had to do was go out on the internet, and she could read pretty much everything she had ever wanted to know about SHIELD, its operations, and operatives – but there still wasn’t much about what had happened in D.C.

Steve had come up to her a few days ago, and had apologized for keeping her in the dark (although he still didn’t share anything) – he was doing it to protect her.  He needed a favor from her – he needed her to go to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in D.C., hang around the Captain America exhibit, and watch for anyone that seemed out of place – anyone dressed oddly, anyone who lingered too long, etc.  If she saw anything at all, she was _not_ to approach the person – instead, she was to avoid their notice and immediately call him.

Darcy would have said no, but she could see from the look in Steve’s eyes that this task was very important to him.  He said he would have done it himself, but extenuating circumstances were keeping him in New York City, and he wouldn’t be able to get away for a few more weeks.  Darcy was also excited to see D.C., since she had never been there.  More importantly, the entire trip was on Tony Stark’s dime – who was she to refuse the best hotel and room service (although she might need to go easy on the room service, her pants were a little tight today) in Washington, D.C.?

Wait…what was that?  Had she finally noticed something unusual?  A thrum of excitement began to pulse through Darcy’s veins.  A man in a hoodie and blue jeans was standing in front of the Bucky Barnes exhibit.  She wouldn’t have given him a second thought, except for the fact that he had been staring at the exhibit for a good ten minutes – and the hoodie.  Not only was the hood up, as if he had something to hide, but it was the middle of summer, and even with the museum’s air conditioning on full blast, it was too hot in the museum for such a heavy piece of clothing.

Darcy slowly stood up from the wall where she had been leaning, supposedly examining the uniforms of the Howling Commandos (Captain America’s was suspiciously absent).  She took her phone out of her pocket and dialed Steve’s number, but the call didn’t go through – disgusted, she noticed that she had no signal.  Stupid phone.  All of the hairs on the back of her neck suddenly stood up, and a chill ran down her spine as she sensed someone watching her.

She looked up and froze.  The stranger was looking directly at her, and while she couldn’t see most of his features, he didn’t appear to be pleased.  His eyes (she couldn’t tell what color they were from this distance) seemed to pierce through her skull, exposing the deepest of her secrets.  As they say in the movies, she had been “made” – he knew that she was there for him.

She was in deep, deep trouble – and looking at her phone, she still had no signal.  The stranger began to move towards her, snapping Darcy out of her trance.  She kept her phone out as she started to move towards the nearest exit from the exhibit.  It was a Saturday, and the museum was crowded – which could work for or against her.  She worked her way into the main part of the museum, neither looking to the left or right, only looking behind her to check on the stranger.  He was not only still following her, but he was gaining.  Darcy briefly entertained the idea of alerting a security guard, but she got a very dangerous vibe from the stranger, and she didn’t want anyone else to get hurt.

“Go to D.C., he said.  Go to the museum and watch for something unusual, he said.  It’ll be fun, he said,” Darcy muttered underneath her breath.

Next time she saw Steve, she was going to _kill_ him for sending her into a situation like this without the proper information.  If she had known what she was going to be facing (and she wasn’t even sure what that was, still), she would have been more cautious.  Her only comfort was that she had remembered to bring her taser with her.  If she had to, she would light this guy up like a Christmas tree.

Finally, she saw her way out.  There was a large group of teenagers standing on the stairs in front of her, waiting for their tour guide to finish consulting a map of the museum before continuing.  She could see a staircase behind them, marked with a “Staff Only” sign.  She threw herself into the crowd of teenagers just as they started to surge forward.  She looked behind her again – to her satisfaction, the stranger was momentarily stalled by the crowd. 

Darcy stepped over the warning sign and ran down the steps, almost falling in her haste.  She burst out of the door into a side alley of the museum.  She looked for something to barricade the door with, but saw nothing, so she kept moving towards the street – once she made it there she looked back again, but didn’t see anything in the alley.  Had she finally lost him?  She chewed her lip as she pondered what to do next – it was doubtful that he had given up, he looked like he was a very determined man. 

She had to keep moving, that was all she could focus on; she weaved her way down the street, slowing down but still walking faster than normal.  She looked down at her phone, and practically crowed in relief – she had a signal!  She looked behind her again – still nothing – and ducked into an alley (in retrospect, not the smartest decision she had ever made).  Her phone already had Steve’s number up, so she pressed Call.

The phone rang and rang.

“Come on, Steve,” she said, tapping her foot nervously.  “Pick up.”

“You’ve reached the voicemail of Steve Rogers.  Please leave your name, number, and a short message at the tone, and I will call you back as soon as possible.”

Darcy groaned.  Perfect.

“This is Darcy –“she wasn’t able to finish her sentence because her phone was knocked out of her hand.  Her feet were suddenly dangling off the ground and she was having problems breathing as she was lifted up with one hand, which was currently wrapped around her throat.  The stranger had found her.

“Who sent you???” he asked.  His hoodie had fallen backwards, exposing a face that she would have deemed handsome in any other circumstances – as it was, he just looked insane.  His light blue eyes burned with rage, and his hair hung around his face in dark, greasy chunks. 

“Was it Hydra? Did Hydra send you?  Answer me!” he said, shaking her slightly.  Dark spots were dancing in Darcy’s vision, and she was afraid she was going to pass out. 

“Can’t…breathe,” she forced out, clawing at her captor’s arm.

She gasped for air as his grip loosened just enough for her to be able to breathe again…which turned out to be a big mistake on his part, because as soon as Darcy had her breath back, she grabbed her taser out of her pocket and let him have it.

His arm completely let her go as he fell to the ground, twitching as he lost consciousness.  The sleeve on the arm that had gripped her throat rode up slightly, and Darcy saw a gleam of silver.  She reached up and pulled it up further, then stepped back in shock.

Steve may not have told her what had happened in D.C., but from the information released on the internet and views from traffic cameras she had hacked into, she knew who the stranger was – and it suddenly made sense why he had been at the museum, and why he had been looking at the Bucky Barnes exhibit.

If she survived this, she was going to _kill_ Steve, she reiterated to herself.  As if on cue, her phone began to ring – it was Steve.  Darcy ignored it, her mind reeling.

She had just tased James “Bucky” Barnes…the Winter Soldier.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy calls Steve Rogers and figures out what she is going to do next.

Darcy was officially panicking.  The few files she had seen on the Winter Soldier had mentioned that he was extremely dangerous, a mercenary and assassin who had never failed to complete an assignment.  He was going to be _seriously_ pissed off when he woke up, and she had no intention of being there when he did.  Her heart beat faster as she looked at him again - did one of his eyelids just twitch?

Darcy grabbed her cell phone off the ground and ran – she had to leave her beloved taser behind, but it wasn’t worth taking the time to detach it, and she could always get another.  When she reached the street a cab was just letting off a passenger.  She jumped in before the driver could pull off again, gave him the address to her hotel, and asked him to get her there as fast as possible.  She looked behind her as they pulled away from the curb and didn’t see anyone coming after her – hopefully the eyelid twitch had been a fluke and he would still be out for a few more minutes. 

Her phone rang again, and she saw it was Steve.  She supposed she should answer this time – he was probably freaking out if the voice mail had recorded any of what happened before it cut off.

“Steve, what the hell?” she practically yelled into the phone as she answered.  The cab driver gave her a funny look, so she shut the partition window (not that this would stop the driver from hearing anything).

“Darcy, are you all right?  What happened?”  Steve asked, “I got the beginning of your voice mail, but then it cut off.”

“I’m fine…but you and I are going to have a little chat once I get back to my hotel.  I’ll call you back – I’m in a cab, and I can’t talk right now,” Darcy answered.

“Darcy -” Steve began, but she hung up on him before he could finish what he had to say.  She was acting slightly childish, and Steve would probably be even more worried now, but a) she felt he kind of deserved to worry about her after what had just happened, and b) the back of a cab was not the place to have a conversation about the covert assassin that she left unconscious in an alley. 

She knew that his real name was “Bucky” Barnes, but she could only think of him as the Winter Soldier – she couldn’t reconcile the image of the man who had held her up against a wall and tried to choke her with the soldier that was described in the Smithsonian exhibit.

The cab pulled up in front of her hotel, and the cab driver, who looked slightly miffed at her, turned around and asked for the fare.  Darcy went to grab her wallet out of her pocket…it wasn’t there. No, it wasn’t possible – this couldn’t be happening.  She checked her other pocket – it definitely wasn’t there.  Had it fallen out of her pocket when she had pulled out the taser – or had it fallen out earlier, in the museum, when she had taken her phone out? 

She knew that the Winter Soldier wasn’t going to let her go, that he was going to try to track her down so they could finish their conversation (if that’s what you could call it).  If he had her wallet (and no matter where she had dropped it, she had to assume he did), he would know her name from her driver’s license and her credit cards .  He would also know her hotel from her room key – and with those two pieces of information, he wouldn’t have any problems finding her, especially if he was as good as they said.

She had to change hotels, now – and hope she could stay one step ahead of him long enough for the cavalry to arrive. 

The cab driver repeated the fare, his voice rising as he grew impatient.  Darcy didn’t know what to do – she had no way to pay him – then inspiration struck.  She held up a finger, indicating that she needed a moment, and dialed a number.

“Hey taser girl, what’s going on?  You’ve got Steve pretty upset,” Tony said as he answered the phone.

“I know, I’ll call him in a minute – but listen, Tony, I lost my wallet, and I need to pay the cab fare.  Can you please talk to the cab driver and work something out?” she pleaded.  She knew it was unorthodox, but she seriously doubted that there was anyone in the world who didn’t know who Tony Stark was, and she was hoping it would work.

“Umm…sure,” he said, “Does he speak English?”

“I sure hope so,” Darcy said as she opened the partition window and handed the cab driver the phone.  He listened for a few minutes, yelled a little, then cursed and handed the phone back to her.  Tony had already hung up, but whatever he said must have worked - the cab driver  told her to get out and drove off, still muttering curse words under his breath.

Darcy was able to get another room key even though she didn’t have any identification – she had become friendly with the hotel staff, and once again, throwing Tony Stark’s name around seemed to accomplish wonders. 

When she got into her room she immediately started throwing her clothes and other items into her luggage with one hand while she dialed Steve’s number with the other. 

“Darcy, what happened?  Are you okay?” Steve asked.

“It would have been helpful if you had told me _who_ you thought might show up at the museum, Steve!” Darcy said angrily.  She was careful not to use any names, because she knew the walls had ears, and figured that Steve didn’t want anyone to know he was trying to track down his old friend.

“What happened?  I told you not to approach anyone, to call me right away,” Steve said.

“Yeah, that didn’t work out so well,” Darcy answered, “I tried to call you, but I didn’t have a signal, and when I tried to leave the room, he figured out somehow that I had seen him and came after me.” 

She could practically feel Steve pinching the top of his nose in an attempt to alleviate the headache she was no doubt giving him. 

“He chased me out of the museum.  I thought I had lost him, but he caught up to me in an alley when I stopped to call you – thanks for picking up your phone, by the way - .”

Steve interrupted her.  “I’m sorry Darcy, I didn’t think that he would actually show up at the museum, it was a little too obvious.  I had a meeting to attend – you know I’m running SHIELD now, and I have a lot of things to clear up here – “ 

“Yeah, well, he almost killed me trying to find out who sent him…and umm, I kind of sort of…tased him,” she said, mumbling the last bit.

“You tased him.” Steve repeated, incredulous.

“Yes, I did,” Darcy answered.  She had finished packing her luggage, so she grabbed her bag, left the room, and headed towards the stairs as she continued, “Oh, and I need to switch hotels, right now, because I dropped my wallet at some point and I have to assume he has it.” 

Steve sighed as he said, “Darcy…”

“I’m an intern, not a spy or a soldier,” Darcy answered, starting to get ticked off again, “I can’t think on my feet and react to things like you do.”

“I know, I’m sorry I put you in this position,” Steve said. 

“Don’t even stop to check out of the hotel you’re at now – Tony will take care of it,” he continued, “Go to another hotel, and check in with a different name.  Tell the front desk to call Tony for payment information, I’ll get the name of the hotel from him.”

“I’ll catch a flight – either Tony’s jet or a Quinjet – and be there in a few hours.  Darcy, when you get to your new hotel, STAY PUT.”

“Fine,” Darcy said as she left the hotel through a back entrance and began to walk – she didn’t have any money to pay a cab driver, and it was probably better this way, anyway – easier to hide among the crowd (although that hadn’t worked out so well for her earlier).  She wasn’t sure what hotel she was going to go to, she would figure it out as she went along.

“I’ll see you when you get here – and you had better be prepared to tell me what the hell is going on when you do, Steve,” she said.

“Understood.  I’ll see you soon – remember, STAY PUT,” Steve said.

“Yes, Sir,” Darcy said sarcastically as Steve ended the call.  She put her phone back into her pocket, looked around to see if she was being followed (she didn’t see anyone), then continued down the street.

The sun was just starting to set when Darcy reached her new hotel and checked in.  She threw her bag on the ground in her room and gazed longingly at the bed – it had been a long day, and she was exhausted.  She hadn’t seen any sign of the Winter Soldier, and Steve would be there soon – surely there was no harm in taking a quick nap?

She fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.  When she woke up later, it seemed that only a few minutes had gone by, but she could see from the clock on the nightstand that it had actually been a couple hours.    

She suddenly sat up.  She wasn’t alone.

“Steve?” she asked tentatively, even though she knew it wasn’t him.  She grabbed her glasses off of the nightstand and put them on, but the hotel room was dark (she hadn't switched on a lamp before falling asleep) and she couldn’t see who was there.

A weight dropped on the bed next to her – from the shape of it, she could tell it was her taser.

“You never did tell me who sent you, Darcy Lewis,” a voice said from the shadows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this was as good as the first chapter. I will have another chapter up as soon as I get my muse to cooperate...


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy stalls for time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been overwhelmed by the response to this story - thank you so much the kudos and for your kind words (I haven't responded to them, but I have read and appreciated every comment).

“Are you going to kill me?” Darcy asked.  Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness now, but she still couldn’t pinpoint where he was in the room.

She heard the sound of shifting fabric, and she was finally able to see the Winter Soldier in the sliver of street light at the edge of the curtains.  He was sitting at the computer desk by the window – she could really only see his eyes and part of his face, the rest of him still in the shadows.

She reached for the bedside lamp, but snatched her hand back when he sharply said, “Don’t.”

“Whether I kill you, Darcy Lewis, depends on the answer to my question, which I’m still waiting for – don’t make me ask you again.” His voice was low and menacing.

Darcy wasn’t as afraid as she probably should have been, though – if he viewed her as a threat, she would be dead already.  He’d had plenty of time to hurt or kill her while she’d been sleeping. 

Her main goal was to keep him talking until Steve showed up – friend or foe, Steve wanted him for some reason, and she would sure feel a hell of a lot safer with Captain America in the room. 

She still felt a shiver go down her spine, however, as she softly said, “It wasn’t Hydra.”

He seemed to relax slightly, less of his face visible as he leaned back against the wall.

“Rogers,” he said, his voice calmer.

Darcy nodded, but then realized he might not be able to see her, so she said, “Yes.”

“I didn’t think you looked like you were Hydra,” he said, “You look too…soft.”

 “Gee, thanks,” Darcy said dryly.

“You should be glad, Darcy Lewis.  It means I’m not going to kill you.” 

She heard the sound of metal sliding on the table, then saw him put something in his pocket.  He was still wearing the hoodie and jeans instead of his full Winter Soldier getup (which would, admittedly, be rather conspicuous in a five-star hotel), but he was apparently still armed (no pun intended).

“It’s just Darcy.”

“I assume he is on his way here, which is why you are stalling,” he said, ignoring her previous statement as he stood up and turned on the desk lamp. 

Darcy looked at him expectantly, but he was apparently deep in thought - it was a little creepy, his eyes seeing her but looking through her at the same time. 

She hadn’t noticed it when she’d been close to him earlier (too busy trying to breathe, she supposed), but she could see now how exhausted he looked – he was deathly pale and had dark circles under his eyes, which were slightly bloodshot.  When was the last time he had slept?  Did he even sleep?

She was pulled from her thoughts as she saw his lips move. 

“Get up.  We’re leaving.”

“What?” she asked, shaking her head as if to clear her ears.  She couldn’t have heard him right.

“Get up, we’re leaving,” he repeated, his voice harder than the first time.

“We?” she squeaked. 

If she left with him, who knew how long it would take Steve to find them – or if he even would.  She had a feeling that if anyone knew how to disappear off the grid, it was the Winter Soldier. 

He apparently wasn’t ready to see Steve yet – not for the first time, she wondered exactly what had happened between them.  Steve had sent her to the museum, so Steve must have figured out the Winter Soldier was Bucky Barnes at some point, but did the Winter Soldier know?  Was that why he had been at the museum, looking at his own exhibit?

No response – gee, what a surprise.  She didn’t know why he wanted to take her with him, but it wasn't for conversation - the Winter Soldier was apparently a man of few words.

“I need to go to the bathroom before we leave,” she said as she got up, then reached down and grabbed the handle of her bag.

“Leave it.”

“I need something out of it…it’s…umm…that time of the month,” she stammered as she did her best to look embarrassed.

In truth, she wanted the opportunity to reload her taser, which she had palmed from the bed and put in her pocket as she got up (thank goodness she had never been one to wear tight jeans).  Her extra cartridge was in her bag.  If by some miracle she could tase him again, it would give her – give Steve – more time.

She pretended to almost drop the bag and stumbled slightly.  He reached out to steady her and she gave him a look of gratitude, hoping he hadn’t noticed that she had just taken her phone off the nightstand and slipped it into her other pocket.  She wouldn’t be able to call Steve, but she could text him from the bathroom and tell him to _hurry up_.

She thought her plan might actually be successful - until she went to move past him into the bathroom and he grabbed her elbow, stopping her.  He held out his other hand.

“Your phone and taser.”  

Darcy briefly toyed with playing dumb, but finally sighed and reluctantly took out her phone and taser and dropped them into his hand.  She supposed she should have known she wouldn’t be able to put anything past him.

She looked up at him, expecting him to be furious, but his face was devoid of emotion, which was almost worse.  He maintained eye contact with her as he put the taser into a pocket in his hoodie (with the gun?).  He then let go of her and grasped the phone with the hand of his metal arm.  She felt a slight tingle in the air.

“Dude! That was my brand new iPhone!” she said, glaring at him as he handed her the phone and she noticed it was dead.  She’d only had it for a few weeks – it was a birthday present from Jane, who had bought it to replace the iPod SHIELD had taken and never replaced.

“EMP,” he answered, shrugging.

She sighed as she threw it on the ground – there was no point to taking it with her now.

“Well, I really do have to go to the bathroom,” she said, moving past him.

Darcy (who actually did have to go, she found) tried to take as long as possible in the bathroom.  It hadn’t taken her long to figure out that there was nothing to help her in the room – the window was too small to escape, and there were no objects she could use as a weapon.

He knocked sharply on the door.  “Hurry up, or I will come in there and get you.”

Darcy washed her hands and stepped out.

“I’m ready,” she said, walking towards the door.

“No bag?” he asked.

Darcy stopped and turned towards him, narrowing her eyes.  If she didn’t know better, she would think that he had just made a joke.  The Winter Soldier had a sense of humor?

He grasped her arm, moving her slightly behind him as he stepped around her and opened the door to the room.

Steve Rogers stood on the other side of the door, his hand raised up - he'd apparently just been about to knock.

“Steve!” Darcy exclaimed, relieved. 

The cavalry had arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Darcy just isn't meant to have Apple products...I hope you enjoyed this as much as the other chapters!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky and Steve talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you so much for your wonderful comments and the kudos.
> 
> There isn't much Darcy in this chapter, it is mostly Bucky and Steve.

Steve’s eyes flicked back and forth between Darcy and the Winter Soldier as he lowered his hand to his side. His brow furrowed as he noticed the way the assassin was holding her arm.

“Let her go, Bucky. She doesn’t have to be involved in this,” he said.

The Winter Soldier – Bucky – almost hissed in anger as he ground out, “Stop calling me that.”

Darcy winced as he unconsciously tightened his grip, his fingers digging into her arm hard enough that she knew she would have bruises later.

Bucky saw her wince out of the corner of his eye and let her go.

“Sorry,” he muttered, making sure she was alright – she nodded – before turning his attention back to Steve.

Some of the tension dissipated from Steve when Bucky released her, but he was still on high alert. He was wearing a leather jacket, t-shirt and jeans instead of his uniform, but he still had his shield on his back, and she could tell he would be ready to fight if he had to.

His eyes were sad but his voice stern as he gestured at the hallway and said, “Do you mind if we move back into the room? I would rather not have this discussion with civilians present.”

The two men stared each other down for a moment and Darcy, who had scrambled onto the bed and was currently trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible, held her breath. Surely they wouldn’t come to blows here? The hotel room was small enough as it was, and she didn’t want to be collateral damage.

She breathed a sigh of relief when Bucky backed into the room, still facing Steve. Steve moved forward, but paused in the doorway and looked at her.

“Darcy, go downstairs and wait in the lobby. Sam is there – stay with him,” Steve said.

Darcy scooted towards the edge of the bed, ready to leave, but Bucky moved in front of her, blocking her path.

“The girl stays.”

Darcy stared at him. What was it with this guy wanting her to be around? Did he not want to be alone with Steve, or was there more than that? She still wasn’t sure why he had wanted to take her with him before, or what he would have done if she had.

Steve opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but then closed it again. He gave a curt nod as he came in and shut the door behind him.

Wonderful. Apparently Steve didn’t want to anger Bucky any further, so he conceded. Darcy still felt mostly safe, because she knew Steve wouldn’t let anything happen to her. She couldn’t help but think, though, that if Steve had to choose between harming Bucky or saving her, he would try to do both at once, and she might not come out unscathed.

“I’m not a girl,” she muttered under her breath as she moved back to the middle of the bed.

Predictably, both men ignored her.

Steve chose a different tactic to get through to Bucky.

He looked him in the eyes and said, “Sam said that they found me on the shore after the incident at the Triskelion. I think you were the one who saved me.”

He paused, looking at Bucky expectantly, but pressed on when he didn’t respond.

“Thank you for saving me. I know you don’t remember most of your early life, Bucky –”

“I told you to stop calling me that,” Bucky said, his hand flexing as if he wished he had a weapon in it.

“You _are_ James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes, whether you acknowledge it or not,” Steve said, a hint of anger creeping into his voice, “You’re my best friend – even when I had nothing, I had you.”

Bucky tensed, which Steve didn’t fail to notice, but he still continued, “Let me help you.”

“I don’t need your help…besides, it’s too late for that.” Bucky answered.

Steve held his hands up in front of him to show he wasn’t a threat as he moved slightly closer.

“You _do_ need my help,” he said, “It’s never too late - you had no choice. Hydra tortured and brainwashed you into doing their dirty work.”

Bucky lifted his hands and stared at them for a moment, then said, “It doesn’t matter. My hands are covered in blood, and I can’t take that back.”

He looked up at Steve as he continued, “Hydra is still out there, and they are looking for me – they will never stop until they have me back under their control.”

“I know,” Steve said. A note of pleading entered his voice as he continued, “Come back with me to New York. We can work together to recover your memories, to deal with your actions as the Winter Soldier.”

Bucky was silent.

“Please, Bucky,” Steve said softly.

“Bucky Barnes is _dead_ ,” Bucky said, his hand twitching again.

“If you aren’t Bucky Barnes,” Steve said, “Who are you?”

“I don’t _know_ ,” Bucky said, his voice and eyes full of anguish.

“I – ” Steve began, but stopped as Bucky, with one last glance at Darcy, turned and threw himself out of the hotel room window, landing on the ground below with a thud.

Darcy ran to the window, joining Steve. Steve had moved to stop Bucky once he realized what he was doing, but had been too late.

There was no sign of Bucky – he was already gone.

“Cap?” she heard a tinny voice say, “Everything alright? I might be able to find him before he gets too far.”

“Let him go, Sam. He’s not ready yet,” Steve said. His shoulders slumped as he rested his forehead against the window frame.

Darcy could hear sirens down the street and the sound of footsteps running down the hall, but she didn’t mention them to Steve, knowing he needed a few moments. Her heart hurt – she couldn’t imagine what Steve was thinking, or what he was going through.

She didn’t know what to say, so she just wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed, hugging him tightly.

“He’ll find me when he’s ready to let me help him,” Steve said, a hint of doubt in his voice.

Darcy nodded.

It took a moment, but Steve finally relaxed and hugged her back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That ended on a slightly sad note, but never fear, I am going to be writing a sequel, tentatively titled "Finding You". The sequel will further define Bucky and Darcy's relation ship and hopefully Steve and Bucky will find some peace - we'll see what happens as I write it.
> 
> I can be found on Tumblr under the same username, hquinzelle. It's mostly Loki, Winter Soldier, and Tom Hiddleston spam, but I do post fan fiction updates on there, as well.


End file.
